Racism and the KKK

Even with the Freedmen's Bureau, many blacks were uneducated and considered the equivalent of dumb beasts. However, contrary to popular white belief, many blacks were well-educated and influential. One of these blacks was Henry McNeal Turner, a preacher. He was elected to the Georgia General Assembly along with a few other blacks. They were removed soon after by the mostly Democratic Legislature. The federal government protested and they were reinstated, but these black representatives held little power. Progress like this was frowned upon by many whites but to some it was an outrage, and some people with harsh views towards African Americans formed a secret  society called the Klu Klux Klan, or KKK. The KKK's initial goal was to keep blacks from voting but when that failed they attempted to minimize the rights of blacks in the south. Their methods are often violent, in a more famous story the KKK was responsible for the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young black girls were killed, this action prompted President Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act. Thankfully, their acts of terror have experienced a severe decline in recent times since the crimes they could formerly commit with no fear of retribution now carry the death penalty.